Picture in your mind if you would this image…Jesus, crowded by many seeking his wisdom, stepping into a boat and sitting down to teach while the many stood on the bank in anticipation. Why didn’t he just have the disciples push the crowd back, why the boat? Was Jesus claustrophobic? Did he need some breathing room? Perhaps he just wanted to get a better look at the multitude.
Get a closer look at the faces of this gathering, standing next to you, look into their eyes and see what they see, feel the emotion of the moment…sense the excitement. You are part of this group, good people seeking some type of “divine” connection and revelation. Jesus was the answer man, the miracle worker and he was about to give a lecture…and whatever the topic, you know it will be powerful and you will be changed because He always spoke as one having authority.
So now He has your attention, the crowds attention…every eye is fixed on that boat…the water is eerily calm…the wind has been hushed. The only sound is that of the boat gently rocking as he begins…
Now open your eyes, staying in that moment and listen to his words…
131That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop--a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9He who has ears, let him hear."
He spoke a parable(modern day stories) Our word "parable" comes from the Greek parabole, which means "a placing beside"--and thus a comparison or an illustration. Its most common use in the NT is for the illustrative stories that Jesus drew from nature and human life. The Synoptic Gospels contain about 30 of these stories.
parables. Usually stories out of ordinary life used to illustrate spiritual or moral truth, sometimes in the form of brief similes, comparisons (see note on 3:23), analogies or proverbial sayings. Ordinarily they had a single main point, and not every detail was meant to have significance.
Where he begins this series of parables is interesting for he kicks it off with one that speaks to what we hear and how we respond to what we hear. We use this text to describe the process of sowing and reaping, investing and return on investment, deposits and withdrawals. And in addition to that it contains some great insight to how to get the most out of life; not just here but in the hereafter as well. After all Jesus was talking about the news of the kingdom of heaven.
I want to step back and view these words today in the context of soul-winning, evangelism, talking to others about our faith… using our giftings to bring people into a relationship with Christ. I think the churches mission should always be to bring people into relationship with Him..a better way of life. The seed would represent the Word/message, our God-given giftings and talents, the dispersing sharing of our relationship with Christ.
Lets look at some of that insight… “a farmer went out to sow his seed”. Now I grew up in a city so I didn’t know many farmers. When I came to the Midwest, I saw them, I met them and I heard them speak. Farmers know something about “making a living”. They know what it means to work…I always thought “manual labor” was one of the Mexicans on my landscape crew. Farmers have an work ethic; an attitude.(like the one that told his son who was complaining about work that he only had to work half days and he didn’t care which 12 hours he chose!) Farmers know that if they don’t put it in the ground then it will never spring up out of the ground. You don’t plow a field in your mind, you need to get after it. . 6The hardworking farmer (toils)should be (he expects to be) the first to receive a share of the crops. 2 tim 2:6
Our problem many times comes in our willingness to act upon the things that we say..to move in the direction of what we desire. Unfortunately we often don’t get what we desired but rather what we expected. We desire some things that we feel God placed in us but we never truly “expect” them to happen. Oh it would be great if they did but God has got to be very busy. We have a hard time believing that God could possibly care about our life, our plans, our family…but He does. Many folks think He’s too busy taking care of Mr and Mrs Copeland, the Bennie Hinns and the Charles Stanleys to get into our stuff. Perhaps He is only waiting for the attitude of the farmer to get ahold of us…get out and sow…to start scattering seed (off your seat and into the street)
Illustration-joe and the lotto ticket.
You and I have experiences with the Lord for the purpose of passing those experiences on to someone who hasn’t yet had it.
The farmer was scattering seed and some of it fell by the wayside, off of the path. Now Jesus was referring to folks who did not get it, who heard the message but failed to comprehend it…. they did not understand..they didn’t “take it to heart” and therefore it did not feed them. So the birds came and ate it up. The birds represent the evil influences that rob us of the harvest that we are destined to have. We’ve all got birds in our life…why somebody may have given you the bird this morning!! …the fact is they do nothing but eat that which is not invested into the soil. The seeds that we have must find their way to the soil. In our view of this text today, think of the path/soil as the objects of our evangelistic efforts. Our use of our gifts must be strategic and intentional…aimed towards people looking for answers. Evangelizing the lost doesn’t always feel great…
How do you feel when you see the birds flying in and flying off with what you are scattering?
One thing that I have found is that I discourage easily if I feel like I missed the mark…failed to connect…or just wasted the seed.
Some seed will take and some won’t.(fescue in our backyard)
Discouragement comes if you keep looking at the seed the birds carried off rather than watering what was planted and keeping an eye on the soil in anticipation of the harvest.
Remember it is God that provides the growth; we plant and water. We need more people who “nurture” others on their journey of faith…to walk alongside until those seeds start to germinate.
We seem to enjoy “buffet approach”… “all you can eat”…we want to open the door and say here it is get in there and get it.
Some folks need to be “loved” or “escorted” into the family of God. Shoe the birds off and stop letting them take away the seeds that were intended to produce a bountiful believer!
Some of the seed fell on rocky places, where there was no depth. Since the soil was shallow, they sprang up quickly but soon the sun came out and guess what happened….they burned out! They were scorched..
Again, we need to stay connected to God and connected to those we share our faith with. Often we see the progress of the new convert and decide that its time to move on and “reach the world” and the sun hasn’t even come out yet on the person we have shared with. The trials start in their life, things heat up and since there is no depth, they burn out and fall back into their old ways(backsliding) Outreach is more than that. Don’t just get the message(gift, seed) to the people, get it Into the people. Rocky places could represent people that many folks often overlook, those that may not be in your normal circle of friends. The “central” part of the plan of evangelism is relationship…that’s why so many would stand on the shore and listen intently to the Lord as He spoke from the boat..because they felt His heart…his sincerity…his compassion…they knew that He truly cared about their lives.
Without relationship, withering takes place and ultimately they perish because they had no root.
The root grows with teaching, mentoring, discipleship…going alongside someone until they get a grip on the foundation and it becomes a lifestyle.(reaching maturity)..until they have depth. That way trouble and persecution won’t be able to take them out of the game
Some fell among thorns…and the thorns grew up and choked the very life out of them. One of our values is “fellowship”. the joining together of believers and non-believers to share life experiences with each other(Acts 2:43)
I used to hunt with my father and as we would go into the woods it never failed that each time we would come across a briar patch. It was the highlight of my day…no matter what I did to get through it, I always had a cut or tear in my clothes on the other side because that is what thorns do…they hinder progress….they tear away your protection and ultimately they pierce you to the bone if you get too close to them. But the fact is that thorns don’t harm you unless you get in the middle of them. I think many times we develop our relationship with folks and we start to disciple them but we fail to express the necessity of their associations and relationships. No matter how big and tough you are, or you think you are, the thorns of life will stop you and choke the life out of you if you get mixed up with them. The bible tells us that “evil company corrupts good habits”. If you keep running back to the briar patch, you will keep returning with the scars of that visit. We need fellowship, building community with those that will not tear us apart, cut us to the bone or halt our forward progress. Jesus pointed out that the “worries of life” and the deceitfulness of riches/wealth” were going to take our breath away….to choke life out of us….is we are not connected to our oxygen supply. Encouragement is oxygen to the soul…we encourage each other….we focus on the best that could possibly happen…Why? Because what we focus on will develop…focus on things that cause increase and not decrease. Hanging with the wrong folks disables your capacity to be fruitful
But there is another place that our gift /seed falls that the Bible refers to as ‘good soil’. Good soil that produces a crop. It’s here where you see your gift keep on giving. The ultimate evangelism experience.
It’s knocking on the door and being welcomed in by a hungry seeker.
It’s watching your antagonistic, back-stabbing co-worker as they transform into a caring and self-less friend.
It’s an altar-call that happens spontaneously…where no one drives you to the altar…..the Holy Spirit draws you.
It’s that season when you have spent yourself for others and you see the fruit manifesting in their life.
All because you went out to sow….you took the time to scatter seed and you stayed with the plant until it became strong enough to stand on its own and become fruitful. This is the place we long to be…to be sharing His message and finding a seeking heart and watching the transformation that occurs as the Word gets in and then that Word starts to come out!(the only diff between this soil and the thornbushes was productivity…fruit.
God’s promise to us as we share our faith is that not only will we produce more who trust in him, the ones we produce will reproduce and the church will grow…..that is His plan. In other words, there will be a “windfall profit”.
My desire is that we will be a church that shares faith experiences….the good and the bad….because that is how we learn. I long to be part of a community of faith that cares about people; and lets them know how much we care by our actions. A Church that is determined to see others find a life that is filled with peace, His peace and joy, His joy. Where can we find that kind of life…in His presence.
I know that there can be great difficulty in getting the ball of relationship evangelism started. It’s scary many times if you focus on the beginning rather than the outcome. Use what’s in your life to reach into someone elses and be friend first. Jesus took every opportunity to share with those that surrounded Him. He loved them, gave them insight into their own lives and showed them how they could connect with Him in a deeper way and what the benefits would be in making that connection.
There’s wisdom in what I am sharing with you today…
Proverbs 1130The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
and he who wins souls is wise.
What seed will you scatter today!
Connect with Him and then connect someone else!
